The Way of the Righteous

 

“Blessed is the man

    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

    and on his law he meditates day and night.

“He is like a tree

    planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

    and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

    but the way of the wicked will perish.” (Psalms 1:1-6 ESV)

We who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives are blessed beyond measure when we make the Lord our trust, and we surrender our lives to him, and we submit to his lordship over our lives, and we deny self, and we die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant) in holy living, in his power and strength, by God-gifted faith in him, and for the glory and praise of God.

We who are followers of Jesus Christ, who are living our lives for the Lord, and not for the flesh, are blessed of God when we walk in the ways of the Lord and under his counsel and direction, and when we refuse to walk in the counsel of the wicked and of the ungodly. And the ungodly are all those who are living ungodly lifestyles, who are making a practice of sin, and who are not following Jesus Christ in walks of obedience to his commands.

So, the ungodly can certainly include people who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are still living according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit of God. They can be pastors and elders and deacons and evangelists and missionaries and anyone serving in any kind of leadership position within the gatherings of the church who has spiritual authority over the people. For we have many among us who are not walking in the ways of righteousness.

So, be careful who you get your counsel from. For not everyone who says he is of God is truly of God. And not everyone who verbalizes a confession of faith in Jesus Christ is of Christ and is walking in righteousness and in holiness and in obedience to our Lord. And not everyone with a seminary degree or a title or credentials which place them in positions of spiritual authority over other people are people of God who can be trusted.

So we need to always be discerning people who test what we hear and read and think we see against the Scriptures (in context), and in prayer, to make certain that what we are receiving is of God, and/or that it is not contrary to the Scriptures and to God’s design and plan and purpose for our lives. For there is so much out there in the media in the name of Christ, and in the name of Christianity, that is really opposed to Christ and to his gospel.

So, just saying that “the wicked,” “the sinners,” and “the scoffers” may be people who are disguised as servants of righteousness, and who may even teach some things correctly, but they can be liars and deceivers who are mixing truth together with lies in order to deceive the unsuspecting and the naïve and the unlearned when it comes to the truths of what the Scriptures really teach. For so much is taught out of context, and not in truth.

And the only way in which we are going to be those whose delight is in the law of the Lord (the Scriptures) is if we are students of the Scriptures who study them in their context and who are applying those biblical truths to our lives. And I know that not everyone in the world has access to Bibles, but if they have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord of their lives, the Word of God is within them, and the Holy Spirit will teach them what is right.

Anyway, we must be people of God who love the word of God and who are holding fast to the truths of God’s word which are intended for us who believe in Jesus Christ. And we must be putting those truths into practice in our daily lives. We do not have to obey the Old Covenant liturgical and ceremonial laws and customs, but we still have to obey God’s moral laws. And we are instructed in the New Testament in how we are to live.

And God is going to use us for his glory and for his purposes to minister his love and grace and his gospel message to the people of this world, and we will bear spiritual fruit for the kingdom of heaven. When we are following Jesus in obedience the Lord can then use us to help others to come to the knowledge of Christ and to surrender their lives to the Lord and to walk in his ways and in his truth, so they have eternal life with God, too.

But sadly not everyone is going to surrender their lives to Christ and leave their lives of sin behind them to follow in the ways of the Lord in doing what our Lord requires and desires that we do, as his people – not even all who profess faith in Jesus Christ. So it is not enough to just profess Christ with our lips, but we must leave behind us our sinful practices and we must now follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands.

For those who do not, who choose to remain in their sins, making sin their practice, they will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what their lips profess. So they will not stand in the judgment, and many will hear Jesus say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” because they would not obey the Lord and his commandments, for they wanted to hold on to their sinful practices and control of their own lives.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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